Green Mountain-Chapter 606 - 463: Entering the City

Jiang Xiansheng was shot in the thigh, and within just a dozen or so breaths, sweat soaked his hair, and he leaned weakly against the armored soldiers.

The Princess Liyang, who previously pretended to use her looks to deceive others, let blood dye her silk stockings red and soak her embroidered shoes, but she stood proudly, saying: "How did you guess these people came to rescue me?"

The forest was peaceful, surrounded by elite troops reluctant to act rashly, waiting for Princess Liyang to persuade them to surrender.

Chen Ji spoke slowly: "Your Highness values your life. When assassinated, instead of running behind the armored soldiers, you ran into the forest, which is peculiar enough. You sent Jiang Que and Jiang Guo away precisely for this moment."

Princess Liyang, lips trembling with pain, still smiled: "I underestimated you; you’re truly not an ordinary grain merchant. Whose person are you? You must not belong to Yuan Xiang or Lu Jin, or else I would already be dead."

"Champion Marquis’s person? Possible."

"Jiang Xianzong’s person? Also possible."

Chen Ji, expressionless, said: "Your Highness need not care whose person I am; just know that your life and death are decided by me."

Princess Liyang curiously asked: "If you don’t want an official position, how about gold?"

Chen Ji replied calmly: "There’s no need."

Feeling the cold of the hairpin next to her neck, Princess Liyang said: "Zhou Sheng, do you know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a wrong bet leads to no burial place, a right one to becoming a general or noble title, nothing is greater than the meritorious service of assisting an emperor."

Chen Ji calmly said: "It would be better if Your Highness let them withdraw first?"

While speaking, he stabbed the hairpin into Princess Liyang’s neck.

This was Mr. Hong’s murder weapon, extremely sharp. The hairpin entered the skin half an inch away from the blood vessels, and blood dripped slowly along the hairpin.

Princess Liyang frowned, softly whispering: "Refusing this and that, I can’t quite understand you. What do you really want?"

Chen Ji answered: "I want them all to withdraw."

After a moment of silence, Princess Liyang loudly commanded: "Retreat twenty steps."

Footsteps echoed in the forest, and those crossbowmen emerged from behind the trees, each retreating twenty steps.

Chen Ji pulled Princess Liyang to Mr. Hong’s hiding place, shoving her into Mr. Hong’s arms: "Hold her hostage, if something goes wrong, we die together."

Mr. Hong looked deeply at Chen Ji: "You trust me?"

Chen Ji turned to walk toward Jiang Xiansheng’s hiding place: "Who else could I trust if not you? You and I now must advance and retreat together. I know you’re not afraid of death, but I also know you fear a worthless death."

Chen Ji approached Jiang Xiansheng, glancing at the wound.

No major arteries were hit, he wouldn’t die.

Jiang Xiansheng trembled, saying: "Save me, I’ll reward you with a thousand taels of gold..."

But in the next moment, Chen Ji suddenly broke the tail feather of the arrow in his thigh and stabbed it backhand into the throat of an armored soldier.

The other armored soldier’s face changed, just about to strike at Chen Ji with a spear, when Chen Ji pulled out the bloody broken arrow and thrust it upward into his chin.

Chen Ji’s moves were so fast that everyone was caught off guard.

The crossbowmen fifty steps away looked at each other, and Jiang Xiansheng’s eyes widened: "What are you doing!"

Chen Ji didn’t answer him, picking up Jiang Xiansheng and leaving. He and Mr. Hong retreated in the direction of Baidadan City, vigilantly watching the crossbowmen.

When Princess Liyang, held hostage by Mr. Hong, limped away, she questioned: "Boy, I’m really a bit confused now. Whose person are you?"

Mr. Hong suddenly laughed: "Don’t mention it, even I can’t figure it out."

Princess Liyang looked down at her blood-soaked embroidered shoes: "At least bandage my wound, or I won’t make it to Baidadan City."

With that, she lifted her skirt, revealing her blood-covered right leg in front of Chen Ji.

Chen Ji tore the sleeve from Jiang Xiansheng’s left arm and tossed it to her: "Bandage it yourself."

Princess Liyang sneered: "You’re rather stubborn."

After Chen Ji and Mr. Hong took Princess Liyang hostage, they retreated, but no matter how far they went, the crossbowmen maintained a fifty-step distance.

Chen Ji said in a deep voice: "Let them leave."

While bandaging her wound, Princess Liyang lowered her head: "If they really retreat, I wouldn’t have any trump cards left, would I?"

Chen Ji turned and glared at her coldly.

Princess Liyang pointed at her thigh: "What, want to stab again? Go ahead, stab a new wound, and I’ll bandage it after."

Chen Ji ignored her, continuing to retreat toward Baidadan City.

Princess Liyang smiled gently: "Don’t worry, I understand the times best. As long as I can live, you can do whatever you want."

She looked up at Chen Ji: "But the premise is that I can live, otherwise, you all must die too."

Mr. Hong couldn’t help but taunt: "Such a powerful Princess Liyang, how did you get exiled here, and why didn’t your elite troops rescue you earlier?"

Princess Liyang gritted her teeth: "Lu Jin!"

At this time, every step Chen Ji and the others retreated, the crossbowmen followed a step, as if they really intended to follow them to Baidadan City.

Princess Liyang said with interest: "What do you plan to do, just retreat into Baidadan City like this? What if Jiang Xianzong wants to kill us?"

"No need for you to worry," Chen Ji took a deep breath, "You’d better start praying now that Jiang Xianzong is not siding with Yuan Xiang and Lu Jin, and also pray that my wife is safe and sound, otherwise, you’ll be the first to die."

...

...

Baidadan City, the southernmost military town of Fengsheng State on the Western Capital Road.

In times of war, this place becomes one of the most important hubs for the Jing Dynasty’s southward movements, where sixty percent of the grain, forage, and supplies, and the cavalry of the entire world gather here.

Therefore, the Jing Dynasty exchanging Baidadan City for Yuan City was intended as a gesture of peace negotiation. But only those who understand military strategy can see that the Jing Dynasty harbors ulterior motives.

Between Baidadan City and Chongli Pass, there is no natural barrier to defend. If a troop were to intercept in the middle, even if the Ning Dynasty takes this city, the Jing Dynasty could easily retake it.

By that time, no matter how many Ning Dynasty troops are in the city, they would be trapped and killed.

Evening, outside Baidadan City.

Zhang Baishi and Jiang Que led a mule team to the loyal and brave gate of Baidadan City in front.

There was a long queue outside the loyal and brave gate.

There were government soldiers from the military encampment entering the city, and more were the grain and merchant teams like them that had just arrived.

Zhang Xia blended in the mule team, looked up at Jiang Que ahead, and then at Jiang Guo guarding behind, always one in front and one behind, preventing them from escaping.

Xiao Man looked at Ah Sheng, "Have you dealt with Jiang Xianzong before?"

Ah Sheng’s mouth bubbled with blisters, "Yes. Mr. Hong said this person is proficient in military strategy, managing Baidadan City so impenetrably firm that not even water can enter. In the earlier years, Mr. Hong and his men could still infiltrate the city, but after he came, getting in became as hard as reaching the sky... But the Jing Dynasty never fully utilized him."

Xiao Man puzzled, "Why?"

Ah Sheng thought for a moment, "Mr. Hong said Jiang Xianzong doesn’t like to fight or kill. In the Jianing 20th year, he led the Hu Ben Army to raid Jizhen, causing heavy casualties to the border army there. But at that time, the Jing Dynasty did not plan a large-scale southward attack, so the military supervisor ordered the city to be massacred and the supplies burned before retreating, but Jiang Xianzong disobeyed, neither massacring nor burning, only tying the military supervisor back to the Jing Dynasty. Later, the Jing Dynasty stripped him of his command of the Hu Ben Army and transferred him to Baidadan City."

Xiao Man’s eyes brightened, "If that’s the case, then he must hope for peace talks between the two dynasties, so he won’t harm the envoy."

Ah Sheng shook his head, worry evident, "Not necessarily."

"What do you mean?"

Ah Sheng looked at Xiao Man, "Because the condition for peace talks is to hand over Baidadan City to our Ning Dynasty, Jiang Xianzong managed this place for twelve years, how could he be willing? Without Baidadan City, the door to the Western Capital Road would be wide open, where would he go then... Actually, I don’t understand either, it’s all what Mr. Hong said."

They arrived at the city wall.

Xiao Man and the little monk tightly clenched their reins, silently reciting their backgrounds in their hearts.

But the situation at the city gate was completely different from their imagination of strict defense; only three or two were guarding the gate, without even chevaux-de-frise.

Zhang Baishi walked to the city gate cave, the guard only casually checked the road pass, stamped it, and recorded it.

Zhang Baishi was still waiting for the guard to inspect the goods on the mules’ backs, but the gate guard waved them through, "Move quickly, don’t block the way. If I see mule dung on the road, I’ll make you pick it up and eat it."

Zhang Baishi hurriedly laughed, "We won’t, we won’t."

As they led the mules through the city gate cave, the little monk was still relieved, "They didn’t search us, the little monk was afraid he’d recited the background wrong."

But Zhang Xia wore a solemn expression, "It’s not a good thing. It means Baidadan City’s upper and lower levels are of one mind, having reached a tacit understanding, deliberately letting the Night Patrol enter... to assassinate the envoy."

As they spoke, the urgent sound of evening drums came from the drum tower of Baidadan City.

Jiang Que at the front of the mule team looked at the sky and instructed Zhang Baishi, "You go to the Western Capital Road Festival Hall now and probe Jiang Xianzong’s intentions."

Saying that, he pulled out a waist tag from his sleeve, "Tell them outside the Festival Hall that the Shangjing envoy has arrived, requesting to see Jiang Xianzong. When you see Jiang Xianzong, tell him the envoy is five li outside the city."

Zhang Baishi’s heart was startled, going to the Festival Hall of the Military Governor with just the waist tag was a matter of life and death, "General, it’s about to be curfew, we should head to an inn, or find a temple to stay the night. They’ll register us, and send us to the government office before the drum sounds end, otherwise, Baidadan City’s garrison will be searching for us all over tonight."

Jiang Que squinted at him, "What does that have to do with me?"

Zhang Baishi took a deep breath, "I understand the general’s urgency, but there are rules for everything, how can we..."

Jiang Que sternly said, "Do not delay time, your relatives are still in the hands of Lord Jiang, hurry!"

Zhang Baishi was hesitating, Zhang Xia walked up to the two, taking the waist tag from Jiang Que’s hand, her expression firm, "I’ll go."

Xiao Man rushed over, urgently saying, "How can that be?"

Zhang Xia glanced at her, "If it’s fortune, it’s not a disaster; if it’s a disaster, it can’t be avoided. Qing Gui is still in their hands; I can’t wait for tomorrow."

Jiang Que sneered, "You understand well. Do as I say, and your husband will live."

Zhang Xia walked toward the city, while Xiao Man anxiously stomped her feet behind her.

At this moment.

The little monk glanced at Xiao Man, suddenly called to Zhang Xia, "Wait for me, I’ll go with you."

...

Happy National Day, everyone.